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This review was originally written for the Baker Street Babes and can be found on our website here.

Richard T. Ryan’s The Vatican Cameos tells the oft-mentioned story alluded to by Watson. The phrase “Vatican Cameos” became a military code after Doyle used it, but it’s unclear if it had been previously used or was derived from him. Ryan imagines the case as a literal allusion to the Vatican, and the story mostly takes place in Rome–in both 1501 and 1901.

History buffs will enjoy Ryan’s detailed research. It’s clear he knows what he’s talking about, and when he brings in Michaelangelo and Leonardo, he’s just as confident as he is in Watson’s and Holmes’s characters. The action is paced swiftly, and the story moves along at an engaging pace.

Ryan’s world pulls the reader in, whether he’s with Italian masters or the Baker Street detective, and he expertly weaves together action that is hundreds of years apart. The Vatican Cameos is a very enjoyable take on one of those stories from Watson’s Tin Dispatch Box that he never quite had time to tell.

We previously reviewed Phil Growick’s excellent novel The Secret Journal of Doctor Watson here. In The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes, he’s back with a thrilling continuation. Growick is masterful at writing Holmes, but he’s also an expert at weaving the stories of the Romanovs and other historical figures into his Sherlockian narrative.

This is definitely a novel for those with a tolerance for finding many real-life individuals entwined with their Sherlockian mysteries, but Growick is never at a loss for how to use the individuals he selects, and his writing style is confidently witty and doesn’t get bogged down.

Growick emphasizes Holmes as a man of action and conviction, and fans of the detective’s physical prowess and tougher side will enjoy his take on the character. Both of his books that we’ve reviewed are adventures more than strictly-traditional mysteries, and they’re simply great fun to take in.